On Thursday, February 24th, Black Creek Arts Council will host the first Darlington County Arts Awards at the Black Creek Arts Center in Hartsville. Eight awards will be given to Darlington County residents. Nominations were taken from the community. BCAC’s Board of Directors, along with input from other arts organizations’ boards will name the award recipients from the nominations. The event will begin at 5:30 with a reception showcasing art exhibits throughout the Arts Center. The awards presentation will begin at 6:00.
Among the awards to be given out are the Performing Artist of the Year, Visual Artist of the Year, Darlington County’s Rising Young Artist and the Patz Fowle Award for Arts in Education. “Our county has so many talented artists that giving them this stage to celebrate together was really a no-brainer for the Arts Council,” said BCAC President Carolyn Atkinson.
“This event is about more than honoring artists. It’s about showcasing our community,” said the event’s chairperson, Bruce Douglas. “While many of the awards are for artists, we are also honoring businesses, volunteers and arts supporters,” he said.
Among the awards to be given out that are not specifically designated for artists are the Frankie Bush Award for Leadership, the Willard Jacobs Award for Volunteerism, the McCall-Wiggins Award for Community Support and the Rolfe Godshalk Award for Arts in Business.
“Our community has a long history of supporting the Arts. We have individuals like Frankie Bush and Willard Jacobs who helped develop our Arts Council into what it is today. Our Arts organizations have always benefited from the support from individuals like Reaves McCall and Betty Wiggins and corporations like Sonoco. More recently, the Arts have been energized by support from small businesses like Saffron, the Midnight Rooster, Burry Bookstore, Flossie Mae’s and Lulu’s, to name a few,” said Douglas.
As is usually the case, support for the Arts comes when there is a thriving community of artists. “Few communities have as many active Arts organizations as Darlington County,” said BCAC Marketing Director Jordan Heydt.
Another sign of our area being a vibrant arts community is that many of the young artists from our county are choosing to attend college locally. “The performing arts department at Coker is reaping the benefits of our talent base of young artists,” said Douglas. “Marlin Ketter, Jon Moree, Dustin Moree, Patrick Doughty and soon-to-be Cobras Amelia Little and Teal Davis are all remarkable performers with bright futures ahead.”
Admission to the first annual Darlington County Arts Awards is free and everyone is invited to attend. Come support our community’s artists, volunteers and arts supporters on February 24th at the Black Creek Arts Center on College Avenue in downtown Hartsville.
For more information, contact Jordan Heydt at 843.332.6234.
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